- “Crumbs”: French PM’s 1.6% minimum wage increase fails to placate unions
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Monday he was bringing forward a planned hike in the minimum wage to December from January, as he sought to defuse a cost-of-living crisis that has sparked some of France’s worst civil unrest in years. … The hike falls short of union demands, with the CFDT, France’s largest union, calling for a €100 increase, while the left-wing CGT union is demanding a 10% rise, equivalent to around €150 a month.’ (11/09/26)
- 150,000 Tents Wait Just Outside Gaza as Israel Blocks Shelter Aid For Flood-Ravaged Exclave
Source: Common Dreams
“As severe floods ravage Gaza, Israel is continuing to block the entry of tents, repair materials, and mobile homes despite the aid provisions of the October 2025 ‘ceasefire’ agreement. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported Monday that more than 150,000 tents are ready to be sent to Gaza, where it said more vacuum trucks and mobile dewatering pumps were urgently needed. At least 70,000 tents were flooded in a single day this weekend. At least one infant reportedly drowned. A mother and her two children, along with three other children from the same family, were killed when a sandbank collapsed onto their tents. ‘Over the weekend, while families slept, water flooded their tents and engulfed entire camps,’ said Ahmad Alhendawi, Save the Children’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.” (11/09/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-floods-shelter-blocked-israel
- US FDA adds warning label to obesity drugs for eye condition
Source: Seattle Times
‘Novo Nordisk A/S and Eli Lilly & Co. must add warning labels to their weight-loss and diabetes drugs about a potential rare side effect that could permanently damage patients’ vision. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will now require GLP-1 drugs including Novo’s Wegovy and Ozempic and Lilly’s Mounjaro, Zepbound and Foundayo to carry warnings that they may increase the risk of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION. The rare condition can cause decreased vision and potentially permanent vision loss.” (11/09/26)
- Turkey: Explosion at steel plant leaves 16 dead and 13 injured
Source: SFGate
“A huge explosion and fire at an iron and steelworks in western Turkey left 16 people dead Monday, officials said. The fire at the HABAS plant in Aliaga, Izmir province, also injured 13 people, two of them critically, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised address following a scheduled Cabinet meeting. ‘Judicial and administrative investigations have been launched into the explosion,’ Erdogan said. ‘The reasons and circumstances of this tragic event, which has deeply saddened our nation, as well as whose negligence was involved and who is responsible, will be revealed.’ Provincial Gov. Suleyman Elban said that a crane fell into a furnace as it was replacing a boiler, causing an explosion in a nearby steel mill. There were 200 workers in the vicinity instead of the usual 300 because production had been halted for the boiler switch, he said.” (11/09/26)
- Cruise ship pianist rescued from sea after nine hours in Pacific Ocean
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“A cruise ship pianist was found treading water around 20 miles (32km) off the Californian coast after falling overboard, according to US media reports. Two fishermen discovered the Royal Caribbean employee near Catalina Island on Friday and officials believe he may have been in the Pacific Ocean for nine hours, according to CBS News, the BBC’s US news partner. ‘I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s a human being. Stop the boat; let’s get all of our lines in,’ Grant Garrett was quoted as saying, recalling the moment he and Sean Norton spotted him. The man, who has not yet been identified, was taken to hospital in a stable condition, the US Coast Guard told the BBC, adding it was investigating the incident. The fishermen say the man identified himself as a pianist on a 14-deck cruise ship called the Ovation of the Seas.” (11/09/26)
- Mexico: Police murder seven-year-old American girl
Source: CBS News
“Mexican police shot dead a 7-year-old American girl when they opened fire on her family’s vehicle from a helicopter during a drug enforcement operation, the state prosecutor confirmed Friday. Police captured a local criminal in Matamoros, which borders Brownsville, Texas, on October 29, triggering a series of street blockades by gunmen in the area. The Tamaulipas state prosecutor’s office said Friday that Aranza, a 7-year-old who was born in the United States, was hit in the head by police gunfire. The girl’s mother told Mexican media she was traveling with five children and her husband in a pickup truck when they noticed a police helicopter was following them. She said the family stopped the vehicle and her husband got out to say they were civilians with children but they were fired at anyway.” (11/09/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-girl-shot-dead-police-cartel-chase-mexico/
- Houthi rebels say at least 44 killed in airstrike near Yemeni capital
Source: SFGate
“The death toll from airstrikes that hit homes near Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, on Saturday has increased to 44, most of them women and children, Houthi health authorities said late Sunday. The strikes on the village of al-Shariya, east of Sanaa, wounded 40 others, including eight children and nine women, said Anees al-Asbahi, spokesperson for the Houthi-run Health Ministry. The dead included 21 children and 10 women, he said, making the strikes one of the deadliest attacks in the latest bout of violence in Yemen’s yearlong civil war. Al-Asbahi said rescue teams were still searching the area for missing people, raising fears that the death toll could rise.” (11/09/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/houthi-rebels-say-at-least-44-killed-in-airstrike-22520434.php
- Iranian regime warns US regime to accept war-ending proposal or risk renewed fighting
Source: United Press International
“Iran on Sunday warned the United States to accept its proposal for ending the war and opening the Strait of Hormuz or risk renewed fighting. ‘Our 2-day proposal stands: meet the requirements, including end to war on all fronts, and you will see results. Or choose war, and see our alert and battle-hardened Warriors rain down hell,’ Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a social media statement. … Specifics of the proposal have not been entirely made public, but Araghchi said it would see the United States first meet several conditions on the first day of its implementation, including lifting sanctions, reducing its military presence in the region and unfreezing Iranian assets, while Tehran would, on the second day, reopen shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz.” (11/09/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/11/09/iran-US-proposal/9791794198770/
- France: Regime accuses IRGC of supermarket fridge hacking
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“France has accused Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of being behind cyber-attacks that raised the temperatures of supermarket fridges and freezers. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the attack was ‘unprecedented in both its scale and its level of aggression’, adding those who were responsible would be hit with sanctions ‘at the European level’. Iran is yet to respond to Barrot’s allegations. The cyber-attack last month saw fridges and freezers in hundreds of supermarkets across France heated up, which spoilt fresh and frozen food estimated to be worth millions of euros. Then last week, dozens of supermarkets across several other European countries were also impacted by a cyber-attack that targeted fridges and freezers. It is not known if the instances are linked.” (11/09/26)
- NYC DSA so afraid of being “too white”, mulling “anti-oppression” task force
Source: New York Post
“Members of the city’s Democratic Socialists of America think their roster is too white — and are considering an ‘anti-oppression’ task force to recruit minorities and actual working-class New Yorkers. The New York City chapter of the uber-liberal group will consider a resolution stuffed with politically correct messaging at its convention on Saturday that would create ‘a Task Force to Promote Equitable Organizing Culture’ and force its leaders to get diversity training. ‘NYC-DSA aims to build the power of the socialist movement by growing our base among the multiracial, multigendered working class of our city’, the proposed resolution said. ‘DSA has historically faced well-documented challenges recruiting and retaining people of color, and NYC-DSA’s racial makeup does not reflect the racial diversity of our city’, the proposal added, also referring to the proposed group as an ‘anti-oppression’ task force.” (11/09/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/11/09/us-news/dsa-admits-its-too-white-as-it-mulls-anti-oppression-force/
- Trump: “Only kidding” about White for press secretary
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said he was ‘only kidding’ when he suggested UFC CEO Dana White could become his next White House press secretary, after a social media post a day earlier stirred speculation about recruiting his feisty ally and signalled a combative approach to dealing with Democrats as they prepare to take control of Congress. Trump said White, a prominent supporter, ‘loves the idea’ of taking the job but insisted he had not been serious about the prospect, describing the suggestion as ‘just a little fun.'” (11/08/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-dana-white-press-secretary-9.7414466
- G7 talks in Paris tackle global crises with uncertainty high over US approach
Source: SFGate
“Top diplomats from the Group of Seven industrialized democracies gathered in Paris on Monday with clear differences on global crises and questions about how U.S. President Donald Trump will approach foreign policy after his Republican Party’s heavy losses in the midterm elections. Whether on the Russia-Ukraine war, Iran or the International Criminal Court, the sides appeared far apart as two days of talks got underway, although all agreed on the need to end the conflicts as quickly as possible. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio faced questions about whether the Trump administration will shift its positions on those issues and others like energy security and artificial intelligence that dominated discussions among foreign ministers from the U.S., U.K., Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.” (11/09/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/rubio-will-discuss-iran-ukraine-ai-and-more-22520303.php
- Ousted PM Sheikh Hasina seeks passport in sign of Bangladesh return plan
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has requested a new passport and identity card to allow her to return from self-imposed exile in India. The request is the clearest sign that Hasina, who has been living in India for two years, plans to make good on her promise that she would return to Bangladesh in December. Hasina told the Reuters news agency that she intended to surrender before a court in Bangladesh, and her aides said on Monday the date would be announced once various formalities were completed. Bangladesh’s war crimes court sentenced Hasina to death in absentia last November for ordering a deadly crackdown on student protests that swept the country in 2024. … Last week, Junior Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir said Bangladesh wants Hasina returned under an extradition treaty with India. New Delhi has declined to hand her over.” (11/09/26)
- Annual Fundraiser: Moving Right Along …
THANK YOU to subscribing contributors ACS and ERW, and to long-time supporter KL — the $110.50 they sent us over the weekend brings our annual fundraiser total (as of 5am) to $1,262!
As a fundraiser goes on, it sometimes feels like every day is “find a new hook to reel them in” day. Which can be annoying, I know, but until we hit $5,503 ($2,751.50 from all but one of our readers, and “matching funds” from supporter GL), I have to keep it up. Today’s hook:
Tomorrow is my 60th birthday (or would be if I still admitted to HAVING birthdays). In “celebration,” I hope to raise at least $60 more for RRND/FND by then. If the occasion moves you to donate $60, or any part thereof, to our fundraiser, I’ll be duly grateful.
PLEASE SUPPORT RRND/FND!
Have a splendiferous day!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily - China: Regime extends tariffs pause
Source: Bloomberg
“China will suspend an additional 24% tariff on [Chinese buyers of] US goods for another two months, formalizing a decision by the two countries’ leaders to prolong their trade truce until next January. The move will take effect at 1:01 p.m. Beijing time on Tuesday, with a 10% blanket tariff retained on [Chinese buyers of] US imports, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said in a statement. China will also extend its suspension of special fees on American ships docking at its ports until Jan. 10, the Transport Ministry said in a separate statement on Monday.” (11/09/26)
- Trump says he was “too tough” on immigrants as he floats amnesty deal
Source: Financial Times [UK]
“Donald Trump conceded he had been ‘too tough’ on immigration and offered to work with Democrats on an amnesty deal for migrants in a sign that he could temper his deportation campaign in the wake of Republicans’ midterm rout. The president said in a TV interview aired on Sunday that some voters had been turned off by the severity of his administration’s approach to immigration. … Asked if he thought some kind of ‘legal status’ deal with Democrats was possible, Trump told CBS that was ‘something that’s actually doable’. He added that he would be willing to work with legislators such as Texas senator-elect James Talarico to achieve reform. The interview was filmed on Friday morning, shortly before Trump announced he was appointing immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as his chief of staff.” (11/08/26)
- Tanker Burns After Strike in Strait of Hormuz
Source: Maritime Executive
“On Saturday, at least two tankers were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, including one that caught fire. The first vessel was transiting about eight nautical miles off the coast of Khasab, on Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, when it caught fire. Unverified videos purporting to show the blaze have circulated on social media, and appear to show a vigorous cargo fire burning amidships. The crewmembers were evacuated, and no injuries have been reported. Video footage shows at least two firefighting tugs on scene and working to combat the blaze.” (11/08/26)
https://maritime-executive.com/article/tanker-burns-after-strike-in-strait-of-hormuz
- Bitcoin drops, then pops as Nvidia cheating scandal and failed Iran talks trigger volatility
Source: CoinDesk
“Bitcoin has seen sharp two-way moves in the last several hours, reminding traders why leverage can hurt. The volatility came as the market digested two uncomfortable headlines. First, Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia – AI bellwether and the largest stock by market cap – admitted to an affair with a woman U.S. officials believe was spying for China. Second, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said negotiations with Iran had stalled. … Bitcoin fell to about $73,761 late Sunday, its lowest point since August, before recovering to trade above $75,000, according to CoinDesk data.” (11/08/26)
- Russian data leak reveals death toll in Ukraine
Source: Yahoo! News
“A data leak from Moscow’s statistics agency has revealed that more than 450,000 Russians have been killed in the war in Ukraine. Rosstat was hit by a cyber attack carried out by groups banned by Russia as ‘extremist organisations’, who stole data on the economy and wartime losses. The Belarusian Cyber Partisans and Silent Crow hacking groups obtained the records, which contained information from death certificates registered between February 2022 and August this year, from Rosstat’s internal demography database. …. Silent Crow, a pro-Ukrainian hacktivist group, published the data, which showed there had been an estimated 450,100 deaths. However, the Cyber Partisans, a group of anonymous hacktivists opposing the regime of Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, estimated the figure to be lower – at 393,881 – because of a more limited methodology that explicitly identified military operations as the cause.” (11/08/26)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/russian-data-leak-reveals-death-154116267.html
- Sudan: Regime Detains Ex-Ruling Party Head Haroun Wanted by ICC
Source: US News & World Report
“Sudan’s army has detained a former senior Islamist official from ousted strongman Omar al-Bashir’s era who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, officials from his party said. Ahmed Haroun, who chairs Sudan’s former ruling National Congress Party, has been hiding for years and is wanted by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes and genocide in the Darfur region in the early 2000s. He has dismissed the charges as political.” (11/08/26)
- Lessons from the Berlin Wall
Source: Liberalism.org
by Rainer Heufers“The fall of the Berlin Wall belongs to history, but its lessons do not. Across many countries today, including established democracies such as the United States, we see political forces challenging constitutional constraints, weakening independent institutions, concentrating executive power, or treating political opponents as enemies rather than legitimate competitors. Elsewhere, authoritarian governments have become more confident in suppressing dissent and restricting individual freedom. The forms differ, but the question confronting citizens remains familiar: what do we do when those in power gradually erode the institutions that protect our freedom?” (11/09/26)
- FACTS: Free Market Competition Fixes Healthcare Better Than the Bernie Sanders Medicare Plan
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey“Monopolies consistently deliver poor service and high costs. A government monopoly operates with even less efficiency than a corporate one needing happy customers to flourish. Government solutions fail because they rely on coercion and ‘no choice’ rather than voluntary exchange. The free market forces providers to earn customer loyalty. Government programs trap citizens in a system with no exit. When the government controls healthcare, patients lose their bargaining power and thereby their choices.” (11/09/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/facts-free-market-competition-fixes
- Voters Pull Back the Curtain on Trump’s Lies
Source: Our Future
by Sulma Arias“I am glad that voters in Kansas, my home state, helped give Trump his final rebuke in the midterm elections. After all, Kansas was home to a girl named Dorothy, who pulled back a curtain to reveal that the Great Wizard who claimed only he could solve the world’s problems was nothing but a fraud. Dorothy is the hero of L. Frank Baum’s classic novel, ‘The Wizard of Oz’. Written in 1900, this beloved children’s story is also considered a parable about the injustices faced by working people during the Gilded Age. Swept away from her home by a storm, Dorothy believes only the Great Wizard has the power to help her. Then, when she visits his castle, she discovers that all along he was lying – and that she had the power to make her own way home.” (11/08/26)
https://ourfuture.org/20261108/voters-pull-back-the-curtain-on-trumps-lies
- The Stupid, Boring Evil of Payton Gendron
Source: The Dispatch
by Nick Pompella“People want to understand how the Columbine shooters, or Adam Lanza of Sandy Hook, or Payton Gendron of Buffalo—who murdered 10 black people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York on May 14, 2022—could do something so terrible to their fellow human beings. We seek and we find unsatisfactory answers. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were goths, were Mansonites, were bullied at school. Adam Lanza was autistic and had OCD. Or, in Payton Gendron’s case, we get the least helpful answer of all: He was ‘radicalized online.'” (11/09/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/payton-gendron-mass-shooters-buffalo-internet/
- When Immigration Meets an Economy That Can’t Adapt
Source: The Daily Economy
by Vincent Geloso“Many complaints about immigration are really byproducts of state interventions elsewhere in the economy, preventing markets from responding to new arrivals.” (11/09/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/when-immigration-meets-an-economy-that-cant-adapt/
- When Nepotism Beats College
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders“Working with family carries risks, but so does betting on the empty promises of higher education.” (11/09/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/when-nepotism-beats-college
- The Irish Question After Burke
Source: Law & Liberty
by Max Skjönsberg“Nineteenth-century Ireland blended sectarian strife with sophisticated debate about representative government.” (11/09/26)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/the-irish-question-after-burke/
- A Case Study in Competition
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Hope Schumaker“For all its novelty, the technology industry is not immune to the laws of economics. The principles of competition and the rules of supply and demand still apply, even to the most cutting-edge devices. Efforts to manipulate the market through bureaucratic regulation threaten to stifle both innovation from businesses and the consumer experience. Recent developments in the world of broadband internet offer a case study in the power of competition. Internet access is becoming more affordable because competition between different methods of home internet services are driving down prices.” (11/09/26)
- The stoning of Stephen Miller
Source: Fox News Forum
by Howard Kurtz“When Donald Trump made the stunning announcement that Stephen Miller is his new chief of staff–preempting the New York Times by a few minutes–I literally said: ‘”Watch for a barrage of negative Miller stories in the next couple of days.’ I was wrong. It was the next couple of hours. MS NOW anchor Katy Tur said: ‘Donald Trump’s whole immigration agenda is Stephen Miller, and for Stephen Miller, it has always been absolutist: do whatever is necessary, as much as we can possibly do, be as cruel as possible as a warning sign for anybody who might want to come over.’ ‘Stephen Miller, one of his most notorious staffers, will instead be taking over as chief of staff,’ CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins … called him a domestic terrorist.'” [editor’s note: “Domestic terrorist” is about the gentlest accurate descriptor I’ve heard – TLK] (11/09/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/stoning-stephen-miller-now-running-trump-white-house
- The vindication of Majorie Taylor Greene
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Jack Hunter“Ten weeks ago, Donald Trump called Marjorie Taylor Greene, his former ally and a former Georgia Republican congresswoman, a ‘LOSER.’ Greene shot back that Trump was a ‘neocon puppet for Israel.’ Both of them do this a lot these days. Last week, it was Republicans who were big losers in the midterm elections. The president might have been the biggest loser of them all. Greene knew why.” (11/09/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/majorie-taylor-greene-trump-elections/
- The Babadook Electorate
Source: American Greatness
by Stephen Soukup“The 2014 Australian psychological horror movie ‘The Babadook’ is generally well known for a handful of things. … Mostly, however, it is known as the source of a once-ubiquitous internet meme. Long story short: ‘The main character of the film is a mother of a young boy with social difficulties who believes The Babadook, a character from a terrifying children’s book they read together, is real.’ In one particularly distressing scene, the mother (Amelia) is exasperated, driving her son (Samuel), who is screaming and generally freaking out in the back seat. Amelia, on the verge of a nervous breakdown, turns to Samuel and yells, ‘Why can’t you just be normal?!’ at which point he starts to scream louder and more violently.” (11/09/26)
- Your Data, Your Money, And You
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Thomas Karat“Sometime this weekend, perhaps late at night, you may have typed a question into the assistant that now lives inside Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. It might have been about a loan you cannot cover, or a parent whose health is slipping. Since December 16, 2025, Meta has used those exchanges to choose the posts and ads you see. The company’s own example was gentle: chat with its assistant about hiking, and offers for hiking boots may follow. Reporting at the time found no opt-out short of staying away from the assistant altogether.” (11/09/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/your-data-your-money-and-you
- A Quick Note on Market Crashes
Source: CounterPunch
by Dean Baker“Predictably, Donald Trump blamed Thursday’s market tumble on the Democrats, or more accurately, ‘Dumocrats.’ As I’ve written for three decades, deflating a bubble is good news. If stock prices don’t reflect fundamental values, then we should want to see them fall. Otherwise, we are getting a misallocation of resources.” (11/09/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/11/09/a-quick-note-on-market-crashes/
- Will Democrats Squander Their Midterms Mandate?
Source: The American Conservative
by Peter Van Buren“I hope the Democrats understand what the results of the midterms really mean. They didn’t just win Congress in a landslide. They landed a two-year job interview with the American people, with the presidency in 2028 as the real prize if they do well, a chance to prove in hard policy terms they should be handed the White House. Or they could squander it beating up on the lame-duck President Donald Trump.” (11/09/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/will-democrats-squander-their-midterms-mandate/
- Ten Reasons Hakeem Jeffries Should Not Be House Speaker
Source: Common Dreams
by Medea Benjamin“Now that Democrats have swept the House, a key question is: Who should lead it? Hakeem Jeffries is in line to become the first Black Speaker of the House, which would be a historic milestone. But members of Congress must examine Jeffries’ record, his priorities, and the kind of leadership he would bring to this moment. Here are ten reasons why Jeffries should not be Speaker: 1.) He has abandoned Medicare for All – At a time when millions of Americans struggle with unaffordable health insurance, medical debt, and the threat of financial ruin from illness, Jeffries has distanced himself from one of the most important progressive reforms … 2.) He refuses to break with Israel – Perhaps nowhere is Jeffries more out of step with the progressive base than on Israel. … 3.) He has failed to champion major cuts to the obscene Pentagon budget …” (11/09/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/why-hakeem-jeffries-should-not-be-speaker
- Learning and Forgetting Nothing
Source: The Erick Erickson Show
by Erick-Woods Erickson“After the Bourbons were restored to the French throne, Talleyrand is credited with saying they had learned nothing and forgotten nothing. The family had been driven from power, watched a king lose his head, and spent a quarter century in exile, yet it came back to Paris determined to govern exactly as it had before the deluge. Within fifteen years, the senior Bourbon line was gone again, this time for good. Much the same could be said of the Trump Administration one week after the midterms. … President Trump’s response has been to push out the person rumored to want a change and promote the person most responsible for what voters rejected.” (11/09/26)
https://ewerickson.substack.com/p/learning-and-forgetting-nothing
- In the Deep South, the “Red Wall” and History Collapse
Source: Washington Monthly
by Colin Woodard“The American Nations map, which charts our settler history, reveals the deep legacies disrupted by last week’s Democratic victories.” (11/09/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/11/09/in-the-deep-south-the-red-wall-and-history-collapses/
- The Childlike Innocence of the American Protester
Source: Law & Liberty
by Ronald W Dworkin“Activists cosplay as revolutionaries while clutching desperately for legal restraints.” (11/09/26)
https://lawliberty.org/the-childlike-innocence-of-the-american-protester/
- The Evangelical Vote Will Return in 2028
Source: Liberal Currents
by Holly Berkley Fletcher“Those writing obituaries for Christian nationalism need to hold off.” (11/09/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-evangelical-vote-will-return-in-2028/
- Impeach Pete Hegseth
Source: The Volokh Conspiracy
by Ilya Somin“Outgoing GOP Representative Thomas Massie is planning to introduce an impeachment resolution against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Soon-to-be Democratic Speaker of the House Hakeem Jeffries says he’s a ‘hard yes’ on the idea. That makes it very likely it will happen. If not now, then when Democrats take control of Congress in January, after their big win in the midterm election. Hegseth richly deserves it, and should be convicted on at least two major charges: his role in starting an unconstitutional war and over 200 cases of outright murder.” (11/08/26)
- Democrats’ disastrous ideas to “fix” Social Security
Source: New York Post
by staff“Watch out: Democrats’ big ideas for ‘saving’ Social Security — now set to go bust in 2032 — range from lunacy like boosting payouts to madness like job-killing tax hikes. The program’s trust fund empties out in just six years, forcing automatic 22% cuts in payments, yet the Democrats who just won control of Congress look to worsen the outlook, throwing the system’s finances even further out of whack. … The shortfall is now covered by the funds’ reserves; when they dry up, payouts automatically shrink about a fifth. Cue Democratic plans to jack up taxes (and not just on the rich!) to pull in more cash.” [editor’s note: And once again they ignore the idea of putting a “floor” on FICA, instead of just raising the ceiling – SAT] (11/08/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/11/08/opinion/democrats-disastrous-ideas-to-fix-social-security/
- Don’t mention the war: how Iran broke Trump’s winning coalition
Source: Asia Times
by Leon Hadar“In the classic Fawlty Towers episode, Basil Fawlty, hotel proprietor and concussed anglophile, spends an evening ordering his staff not to mention the war in front of his German guests, and then mentions it in every other sentence. Watching the Republican Party’s 2026 campaign, I kept thinking of Basil. For eight months, the White House, the party’s campaign committees and their friends in the conservative media worked hard at not mentioning the war with Iran. The voters, it turns out, mentioned it for them.” (11/09/26)
https://asiatimes.com/2026/11/dont-mention-the-war-how-iran-broke-trumps-winning-coalition/
- RFK Jr. May Be Finding a Stronger Foothold in Trump’s Administration
Source: Washington Sun
by Paige Winfield Cunningham“Earlier this year, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seemed destined for a short tenure in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet. Now, the Make America Healthy Again movement’s footing looks surer in the administration and those around Kennedy say they believe the health secretary is here to stay. Incoming White House chief of staff Stephen Miller is friendlier to Kennedy’s priorities than ousted chief Susie Wiles, who former Kennedy advisor and MAHA activist Calley Means excoriated over the last few days for shutting down MAHA initiatives. Trump is enthusiastically backing top Kennedy efforts into researching autism and vaccines.” (11/08/26)
- Don’t Let Christian Nationalists Rewrite the First Amendment
Source: RealClearPolitics
by Ayaan Karan“The First Amendment’s Establishment and Free Exercise clauses seem clear. They guarantee the free exercise of religion while prohibiting the state from endorsing a particular religion. In the words of the Late Antonin Scalia, ‘The state may not discriminate among religions, and a favor available to one must be made available to all.’ Yet some of the Christian Nationalist crowd is shifting away from this widely accepted interpretation. … As new excuses beyond plain bigotry must be found to disparage and marginalize Muslims, Hindus, and other non-Christians, Christian Nationalists have attached themselves to a reactionary view of our founding. They’ve convinced themselves that if a view sounds archaic enough, they can spin it and say the Founders must have believed it.” (11/08/26)
- Quantum Vibe, 11/09/26
Source: Big Head Press
by Scott BieserCartoon. (11/09/26)
- Europe Has Become an American Colony in Revolt
Source: exile in a happy valley
by Nicky Reid“Paris is burning again but this time the fire is spreading and it’s spreading fast. What ostensibly began as the latest upheaval in a long, proud tradition of Parisian student uprisings has exploded into a human inferno scorching every corner of the European map. … While America keeps its subjects busy with make-believe democracy at the ballot box, the kids in Europe are fucking around with the real thing in the streets and I can’t be the only stateside anarchist who wants a taste of the uncut stuff.” (11/08/26)
https://exileinhappyvalley.blogspot.com/2026/11/europe-has-become-american-colony-in.html
- Why California’s Government Isn’t Working
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen“While voters were sticking a knife in the oligarchy across the country this year, that particular aspect of the blue tsunami ended at the border of California. Proposition 40, the billionaire wealth tax, failed. Worse, the competing initiative placed on the ballot to confuse voters, Prop 42, could very well pass. (It’s up by about 580,000 votes, but there are nearly five million left to count; the no side would need something like 56 percent of the uncounted vote to win.) Prop 42 bans all taxes on personal property and assets and is an almost direct copy of something that Texas passed three years ago.” [editor’s note: Panic! At the “progressive” disco – TLK] (11/09/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/11/09/why-californias-government-isnt-working/
- All of the Errors Forgotten
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Charles Krblich“Baseball is my favorite game because of the lessons it teaches. First, it’s a team game that individuals play: your at-bats and fielding are yours and yours alone, but they are put to work in the service of your team. Second, and most importantly, it is a game of individual and team failure: you are out more often than you are on base, a team winning percentage of .550 – .600 — just more than half of your games played — is a championship-caliber team, and each attempt is isolated. It is recorded. There is nowhere to hide the miss. The game forces you to live with failure as a normal outcome. Maybe as a result, a wide range of superstitions and rituals developed and many have been passed down through the generations.” (11/08/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/all-of-the-errors-forgotten/
- Make Armistice Day Great Again
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“In 1954, Congress replaced the traditional ‘Armistice Day’ observance with a celebratory ‘Veterans Day.’ Instead of mourning war, we now celebrate warriors. Parades. Air shows. Political speeches. Free meals, drinks, haircuts, etc. for veterans. A lot of ‘thank you for your service’ to everyone identifiable as a veteran of the US armed forces; quite a bit of mutual back-slapping among those of us who ‘served.’ To me, the best way to celebrate veterans would be stop making so many of us — especially, but not only, of the dead, maimed, traumatized, and homeless varieties.” (11/08/26)
- The Next Takeover
Source: The Porter Files
by Jake Porter“While most of us spent the spring and summer working on campaigns, Michael Heise, founder of the Mises Caucus, was plotting a second takeover of the Libertarian Party. His plan to create the ‘American Liberty Party’ wouldn’t just capture the Libertarian Party, but destroy it, replacing it with a bizarre mixture of America First populist mush that, by his own admission, ‘wont be explicitly libertarian.’ … On October 27, Heise announced the American Liberty Party. If you visit the website and scroll to the bottom you will realize that it is a project of the Mises Caucus, paid for by Mises PAC and not actually a new political party.” (11/07/26)
- Republicans’ Post-Midterms War Denialism Is an Exercise in Special Pleading
Source: The American Conservative
by W James Antle III“Republicans took a pounding on Tuesday that made past wave elections look like a mild drizzle by comparison. Just whatever you do, don’t blame the Iran war. … Even in 2006, Republicans had other problems besides the Iraq War. But this furious denial of the war’s impact is reminiscent of those who wanted to blame GOP congressional losses 20 years ago on earmarks.” (11/07/26)
- Free Speech Will Survive
Source: Racket News
by Matt Taibbi“Free speech is in trouble, and problems are snowballing, with the First Amendment now squeezed between competing visions of unfreedom. The massacre of the Republican party at the polls last week was driven at least in part by the Trump administration’s cringeworthy failures on the issue. … Supporters of civil liberties are becoming a subculture. We’re aging out of the era when Americans reflexively understood why free speech is important.” (11/07/26)
- Can the Wealthy Buy Elections?
Source: The Daily Economy
by Christopher Freiman“Money matters, but the data show that other things matter more. Minority interests routinely organize and win, even with comparatively little wealth.” (11/07/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/can-the-wealthy-buy-elections/
- California gives life to ending the death penalty
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“In at least one regard, California Gov. Gavin Newsom did not make history Thursday in seeking to commute the death sentences of 548 people to life without the possibility of parole. A few other U.S. governors have granted universal clemencies to those facing state execution. Yet his mass commutation, once fully enforced, would be the largest in American history. It would empty out the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere, reducing the U.S. death row population by nearly 30%. And by its moral force as an act of official mercy, it might add to the steady erosion of public support for capital punishment. While Governor Newsom cited his constitutional authority in granting clemency – with the state’s highest court still yet to review some cases – he also said he acted out of personal conscience.” (11/06/26)
- Democrats won the midterms. Republicans may have won something bigger.
Source: Washington Post
“Now look, guys, I know it doesn’t feel that way. You not only took an epic thumping; you’ve probably lost any hope of holding the presidency in 2028. That doesn’t feel great, especially because Democrats are already murmuring about retribution. So I don’t blame you for failing to look on the bright side. But there is a bright side. In fact, there are two. For one thing, you have a chance to rebuild your party around something other than Donald Trump. That needed to happen. At 80, Trump has neither the energy nor the actuarial lifespan to lead the party into the future. But Trump didn’t want that to happen, and until now, he has had the power to prevent it, by ruthlessly purging anyone who tried to build an independent Republican identity. After this midterm defeat, that power will wane.” (11/08/26)
- Rising, 11/09/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on Rep. Hakeem Jeffries firing back at those on the left who are calling for him to be ousted as House leader.” (11/09/26)
- Ask the Author: Francis Fukuyama and Damon Linker on The Post-Midterm Reality
Source: Notes from the Middleground
“A recording from Damon Linker and Persuasion’s live video.” (11/09/26)
https://damonlinker.substack.com/p/ask-the-author-francis-fukuyama-and
- Trita Parsi on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Trita Parsi returns to the show to discuss what will likely happen next after voters made their opposition to Trump’s war clear in the midterm elections. Scott and Parsi dig into the dynamics within the Trump administration and talk about how Israel’s election also affects things.” (11/09/26)
- The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 11/09/26
Source: The New Republic
“Angry Trump Unravels as GOPers Openly Admit He Wrecked Their 2028 Map.” (11/09/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/217735/angry-trump-unravels-gopers-openly-admit-wrecked-2028-map
- Bulwark Takes, 11/09/26
Source: The Bulwark
“Trump’s Interview Sends MAGA Into a Full-Blown Meltdown.” (11/09/26)
- The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 11/09/26
Source: The Dispatch
“With Jonah Goldberg sleeping off his election-night hangover, Dispatch in-house grumbler Kevin Williamson takes the helm for today’s conversation with author Jeanna Smialek. The pair discuss Jeanna’s new book about the novelist and cover economist Maria Edgeworth, digging into political economy, Adam Smith, moral novels, women’s education, Harriet Martineau, early feminism, utilitarianism, value theory, Ireland, Little House on the Prairie, and the Great Potato Famine.” (11/09/26)
- Hexapodia Podcast, 11/09/26
Source: Noahpinion
“Noah, Brad DeLong, and Dan Wang discuss the Anthropic IPO.” (11/09/26)
https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/noah-brad-delong-and-dan-wang-discuss
- Free Talk Live, 11/08/26
Source: Free Talk Live
“Dave Ridley calls about NH vote on ‘tax cap’ :: Police in MS shoot and kill a baby, court ruled ‘justified’ :: Skeeter calls to act like a child :: Sarah in NM calls about new speeding cameras :: Caller insists IP is valuable :: Turd also likes IP :: voting systems are dumb :: people released from Aurora immigration detention center immediately re-arrested :: 2026-11-08 :: Hosts: Stu, Rich E. Rich, Riley O’Bill.” (11/08/26)
- The Permanent Questions, 11/08/26
Source: The Atlantic
“Can Beauty Make Us Good?” (11/08/26)
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/11/can-beauty-make-us-good/689302
- Neon Liberalism, episode 98
Source: Liberal Currents
“Samantha Hancox-Li chats with Andy Craig, senior editor at the UnPopulist, about the most revealing results from the election, including Mississippi and Texas, what it means for the future of the Republican Party (nothing good), and how corruption can unite ‘affordability’ Democrats and ‘Reconstruction’ Democrats.” (11/08/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/trumps-epic-defeat-neon-liberalism-98-with-andy-craig/
- Year Zero with Tommy Salmons, 11/08/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“They Still Hate You!!” (11/08/26)
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 11/08/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“US Expands Iran Blockade, Continues Strikes on Qeshm, Saudis Massacre Yemeni Civilians, and More.” (11/08/26)
- Unattended Baggage, episode 362
Source: Unattended Baggage
“Bye-Bye Fascists, Hello Commies.” (11/07/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-362-bye-bye-fascists-hello
- Free Talk Live, 11/07/26
Source: Free Talk Live
“Sarah says New Mexico voted to way overpay their state reps :: Sarah said she paid into the system enough the one year in her life that she worked a job :: Tim from FL calls in with questions for Skeeter :: Dan O’Neil calls in from the Exit and Build conference in Texas to promote parallel systems :: Sterling Lujan tells us about living in a Pop Up City in Austria :: What made R’s turn their backs on MAGA? :: Are hackers attacking the US food supply like in Europe? :: 2026-11-07 :: Hosts: Bonnie, Colin, Angelo.” (11/07/26)
- Pink Flame of Liberty, 11/07/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Ponty’s Reporting on LNC Data Beach: Did Andy Buchovitch SCAPEGOAT Mises Caucus opponents?” (11/07/260
- The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan, 11/06/26
Source: The Weekly Dish
“Michael Barone On The Midterm Results.” (11/06/26)
https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/michael-barone-on-the-midterm-results
- Rising, 11/06/26
Source: The Hill
“Lindsey Granger gives her lens on Jon Stewart suggesting that Sen. Chuck Schumer should not be the Senate majority leader now that Democrats have control of the Senate.” (11/06/26)
- Checks & Balances, 11/06/26
Source: Checks & Balances
“He Left Trump’s FBI. Now He’s Speaking Out.” (11/06/26)
https://chkbal.substack.com/p/he-left-the-trumps-fbi-now-hes-speaking
- The Political Orphanage, 11/06/26
Source: The Political Orphanage
“How to Talk to Your Neoliberal Shill.” (11/06/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/how-to-talk-to-your-neoliberal-shill
- The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 11/06/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Shivs Hegseth in Strange Aside as GOP Knives Come Out Big Time.” (11/06/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/217676/trump-shivs-hegseth-strange-aside-gop-knives-come-big-time